Cheese making on the farm

Historic, archived document

Do not assume content reflects current
scientific knowledge, policies, or practices.

U. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE.
FARMERS' BULLETIN No. 166.

CHEESE MAKING ON THE FARM.

COMPILED BY

HENRY E. ALVORD,

Chief of Dairy Division, Bureau of Animal Industry.

WASHINGTON:

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1903.

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

United States Depaktment of Agkiculture,

Bureau of Animal Industry,
Washington, D. C, March 3, 1903.
Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith the manuscript of an
-article entitled " Cheese making on the farm," and to recommend the
publication of the same as a Farmers' Bulletin. It was submitted by
Henry E. Alvord, Chief of the Dairy Division, and when published in
the form recommended will afford a convenient means for answering
frequent inquiries for plain directions for making cheese in a small
way in the household on the farm. The bulletin is composed princi-
pally of descriptions which have been taken from the writings of well-
known authorities upon the subject treated.

Respectfully, D. E. Salmon,

Chief of Bureau.

Hon. James Wilson,

Secretary of Agriculture.

Dy. 45

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CONTENTS.

Page.

Introduction _ _ _ . _ _ _ _ 5

How to make dairy-farm cheese _ _ _ 5

Details of manufacture ... 5

Aeration and cooling . __. ... 5

Coloring _• 6

Rennet . 6

Temperature 6

Curdling 6

Cutting 6

Cooking 6

Molding 7

Pressing 7

Dressing 7

Salting . . 7

Curing 8

How to make small cheese _ 8

Print cheese — 10

Pot cheese 12

Neufchatel cheese 13

English cream cheese 14

French cream cheese 14

Double cream cheese . . 14

Notes for home cheese making 15

Utensils 15

Rennet 16

Preparation of the curd . _ ...... 16

Salt 16

Pressure 16

Curing _ 16

166 3

ILLUSTRATIONS

Page.

Pig. 1. — Various sizes of farm dairy cheese 6

2. — Farm dairy cheese press . 7

3. — Print cheese made at University of Wisconsin 11

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CHEESE MAKING ON THE FARM.

INTRODUCTION.

There is a popular impression that the manufacture of cheese in
this country has been so completely transferred to the factory system,
during the last half century, as practically to abolish cheese making
on dairy farms. But the agricultural returns of the Twelfth United
States Census show that in the year 1899 there were still 15,670
farms upon which dairy cheese was made. The quantity produced
on these farms during that year was 16,372,330 pounds, an average of
1,045 pounds per farm. This product constituted almost 5£ per cent
of all the cheese made in the United States.

It is the purpose of this bulletin to furnish for the farm and the
farm household a brief description of the most approved methods
employed in the manufacture of several varieties of cheese, producers
of wide experience having been consulted in compiling the informa-
tion herein contained.

HOW TO MAKE FARM DAIRY CHEESE.

The ordinary process by which our American cheese is made in fac-
tories is not applicable to the farm dairy, because it takes too much
time, and is so complicated that it requires years of practice to
become sufficiently familiar with the varying conditions in which
milk comes to the vat. The various changes that take place in milk
and which are troublesome in making cheese nearly all develop in
the night's milk kept over until the following morning. So if milk is
made into cheese immediately after it is drawn, no difficulty need be
experienced. By employing a simple and short method of manufac-
ture, anyone at all accustomed to handling milk can, with the appli-
ances found in any well-regulated farm home, make uniformly a good
cheese.

DETAILS OF MANUFACTURE.

Aeration and Cooling. — The best time to make farm dairy cheese is
immediately after milking. First pour the milk from one vessel to
another in some locality where the air is pure and fresh, raising the
vessel well so that the air can pass through the milk as it is poured
out and carry off the animal heat and odor. Then pour the milk into
the vat, or, if no regular vat is at hand, use a large wash boiler.

16B 5

6

Coloring. — If it is desired to have more than the natural color, so
that the cheese will look rich, add about a teaspoonful of cheese
color to 10 gallons of milk. To do this properly take a large dipper
half full of milk, mix in the color thoroughly, and stir the whole into
the vat of milk.

Rennet. — Now add rennet extract at the rate of 1 ounce to 100 pounds,
or 12 gallons, of milk. Mix the extract with half a dipper of cold
water and then pour into the milk. Rennet tablets may be used
instead of the extract, one small tablet for every 5 gallons of milk,
or one large tablet for 25 gallons. Small tablets are about the size of
a dime; large tablets are about as large as a silver quarter of a dol-
lar. Dissolve the tablets required in a small quantity of cold water,
then pour into the milk. The rennet extract or the tablets may be pro-
cured from any dairy supply house and at many drug stores.

Temperature. — Great care should be taken not to have the milk at a
temperature below 86° F. nor above 90° when the rennet is put in.

Fig. 1. — Various sizes of farm dairy cheese.

Curdling. — After the rennet is put into the milk, stir gently two or
three minutes, then let stand until the curd is firm enough to cut.
The milk should begin to curdle in from ten to twelve minutes. To
ascertain when the curd is ready for cutting, push the forefinger into
the milk at an angle of 45° until the thumb touches the milk: make a
slight notch in the curd with the thumb, then gently raise the finger;
if the curd breaks clean across the finger without any flakes remain-
ing on it, the curd is ready for cutting. A little practice will soon
enable the operator to tell the best time to cut.

Cutting. — For cutting, regular cheese knives are best, one with
horizontal blades and one with perpendicular blades. In case it is
intended to make only a few cheeses, a wire toaster may be used, the
wires only about a half an inch apart. First cut lengthwise, then
crosswise of the vat or boiler, until the curd is cut into cubes about
the size of small kernels of corn.

Cooking. — After cutting, stir the curd gently for about three min-
utes, then heat slowly to 98° or 100° F., constantly stirring gently
while the curd is being heated. Keep the curd at this temperature for
about forty minutes. To tell when the curd is sufficiently cooked,
take a handful and press it gently, hold for a moment, then open the

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hand, and if the curd falls apart it is firm enough. As soon as the
curd is sufficiently cooked, draw off the whey. Then the curd is
ready to put into the cheese mold, or hoop.

Molding. — Fill the mold by taking a double handful of curd at a
time and pressing in gently until the mold is full and well rounded
up. Regular Gouda molds are best, but any tin or wooden receptacle
will answer if small holes are made in it to allow the whey to escape.
The cheese should be from 8 to 10 inches in diameter and about 3
inches thick. Then take the cheese out of the mold and turn it upside
down and replace it. Put on the cover and put the cheese to press.

Pressing. — The press may be a simple lever and weight described as
follows: The lever should be about 12 feet long; a broken wagon
tongue answers the purpose very well. Set a strong box, on which
the mold may be placed, about 3 feet from a wall, post, or tree ; on
the latter nail a slat and under it put one end of the lever. Put a
circular board about 6 inches in diameter upon the mold and on this
rest the stick or lever. A pail containing a few cobblestones will

Fig, 2 Farm dairy cheese press.

answer for the weight. Do not apply full pressure at first, but let the
weight hang about halfway between the mold and the outer end of
the stick. Let the cheese remain a few hours in the press; then take
out and dress.

Dressing. — To dress a cheese, first put it in warm water for a few
moments and then wipe dry and rub smooth. Take a piece of linen
cloth about G inches wide and long enough to go around the cheese
and lap over a few inches. Wrap the cloth smoothly around the
cheese, folding the edges down carefully over the sides ; then put a
circularcap of cloth of suitable size on each side. Replace the cheese
in the mold, with the bandage or dress all smooth, and put it under
the press, moving the pail to the end of the stick. Leave the cheese
in the press for about twenty hours; then take it out and salt it.

Salting. — The cheese may be either dry salted or brine salted. Brine
salting is the better way. Make a solution of salt and water as strong
as it can possibly be made; put the cheese into this brine and sprinkle
some salt on the surface which is exposed as it floats. Leave the

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cheese in brine for two and a half days, turning it over every twelve
hours. For dry salting rub salt onto the cheese, and all over it, twice
a day for three or four days.

Curing.— Next, put the cheese on a shelf in the cellar for curing. It
must be turned and rubbed with the palm of the hand every day foi
a week or two; after that twice a week will suffice. While curing,
cheese should occasionally be wiped with a cloth dampened in warm
water, and if it gets a rough rind smooth it by using a brush and
warm water. The temperature best adapted for curing is from 55° to
65° F., and the air should be as moist as possible. A cellar with a
suitable and even temperature and not too dry is therefore a good
place for curing. The cheese will be ready for use in from two to
four months. The lighter the cheese is salted the sooner it will be
ready for use, and the more the curd is cooked the slower it will be in
ripening and the longer it will keep.

Cheese made as here described is more like the Dutch Gouda than
any other of the standard varieties. (From a circular issued from the
Minnesota Dairy School by Prof. T. L. Haecker.)

HOW TO MAKE SMALL CHEESE.

It is difficult to give necessary directions for successfully making
cheese to one not accustomed to "curd mixing." Until the operator
has gained experience by practice, the result of making cheese from
such printed directions can not be guaranteed. But some principles
and rules may be given which ought to prove a fairly satisfactory
guide to experimental practice, if good judgment be used in their
application.

We will assume that we use 500 pounds of milk testing 4 per cent
fat. If the quantity of milk used be more or less, the amount of ren-
net, salt, etc., should be proportionate. The night's milk should be
well aired, cooled, and kept at a temperature of 05° F. Take the
fresh morning milking and mix the night's milk with it in a vat or
tub not more than 20 inches deep; 15 inches will be better, as the curd
will cook more thoroughly and with less danger of packing in the bot-
tom. A very simple and effective way of heating the milk is by using
two small cans, 7 inches in diameter and high enough to extend above
the surface of the milk. Fill these cans with hot water and move
them around in the vat until the milk is warmed to 84° F.

When colored cheese is desired, add one-half ounce of some standard
cheese color, mixed with half a pint of water, and stir thoroughly into
the milk. Put 1£ ounces of rennet extract into half a pint of cold
water (do not use warm water or allow the mixture to become warm)
and add to the milk, stirring for two minutes. The mass will coagu-
late and be ready to cut in about twenty-five minutes. The curd is
ready to cut when it will break clean over the finger. If no cheese
knife is at hand, use a piece of galvanized woven-wire netting, about

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6 by 15 inches, with a half-inch mesh, drawing it through the mass
lengthwise and crosswise. This of course is a crude way of cutting,
but it will serve the purpose of breaking the mass and starting the
whey. Keep the mass stirred so that the small cubes will remain
separate. The heating cans should be again used in ten minutes.
Keep them moving around in the vat and also move the curd well in
order to prevent any portion of the latter from becoming overheated.
When the thermometer registers 98° P., take out the cans and stir the
mass until the cubes of curds do not readily adhere ; then stir occa-
sionally until ready for the mold. This point is not easily deter-
mined. The old way of deciding this was to take off the whey when
the curd squeaks between the teeth, which is by no means a bad
method. It would be better to depend upon the feeling and the smell,
but beginners may use the first rule mentioned, aided by the feeling.
Take a handful of curd and squeeze it hard. If it has an elastic
feeling, showing it to be well dried out, then drain off the whey.
Keep the curd well stirred until it is cool and free from moisture;
this will require about half an hour. It may be more convenient,
after removing the whey, to place the curd in some other receptacle
where the moisture will drain out more easily and quickly — either a
slanting rack or a rack with a cloth over it. Add 1 pound of clean
salt, thoroughly mix with the curd, and wait fifteen minutes before
pressing. Two hoops 11 inches in diameter and 14 inches deep, or
one hoop 14 inches in diameter and 14 inches deep, will be needed; or,
if small, 12-pound cheeses are wanted, get four 7-inch hoops 12 inches
deep. The amount of cheese produced will depend upon the fat con-
tent of the milk. It is safe to count on 2.65 pounds of cured cheese
for each pound of fat in the milk, if the milk contains anywhere from
3^ to 4£ per cent butter fat.

Take a cheese bandage to fit the hoop and long enough to project
1 or 2 inches at each end. Place a round piece of cotton cloth at the
bottom of the hoop as a temporary cap, or cover; then put in the band-
age with the lower edge turned in about an inch on top of the bottom
cap and the upper edge turned back over the top of the hoop. Fill
in the curd, fold in the upper edge of the bandage, put on as a top
cover a piece of cotton cloth similar to the one on the bottom, and
place in the press. For pressing, use a 1^-inch screw set in a frame
and provided with means for turning, if a better press is not avail-
able. The rind will not form and the whole operation will be a fail-
ure, if sufficient pressure is not applied. A simple lever press is
described on page 7.

After an hour take out of the press, adjust and smooth the bandage,
covering the edges nicely, and put on cap cloths of same material as
the bandage, with the cotton press cloths on the outside of these.
Put the cheese back into the hoop, with a strong, round, wooden " fol-
lower" closely fitting inside the hoop, on top of the cheese, and press

10

again until the following day. Then take out the cheese, remove the
press cloths, but not the bandage and caps, and place it for curing on
a shelf in a room having an even temperature of about 60° F. It
should cure in three or four weeks.

The resulting cheese will be presentable and eatable if no gross
errors occurred in the making. The operation, however, will prob-
ably be a failure from an economic standpoint, because an equal
quantity of cheese of guaranteed quality can almost always be pur-
chased from a reliable manufacturer or dealer cheaper than it can be
made in a small way. (B^rom the writings of H. E. Cook, of Lewis
County, N. Y., a cheese instructor of the State department of agri-
culture.)

PEINT CHEESE.

Manufacturers and dealers in food products of all kinds are more
or less familiar with the advantages to be gained from neat packages
and the attractive appearance of the articles offered for sale. Style
and finish are important factors in trade, and in making a selection
the consumer is influenced by the appearance as well as by the quality
of the product. This is well understood by progressive manufacturers
and dealers in dairy products, and the necessity of careful attention
to these details is continually being urged upon everyone connected
with the dairy industry. More consideration in this direction seems
to have been given in the past to batter than to cheese, and, except-
ing some high-priced small packages and jars, cheese is still generally
made in large sizes, which are cut into awkward slices at grocery
stores and sold by the pound.

One of the most popular butter packages is the 1-pound print. In
some markets print butter is quoted at 1 cent or more above the ruling
price of other butter, which may be of the same quality but is put up
in a less attractive package. This popularity of print butter shows
that it is profitable to study the market demands regarding the shape
and the appearance of dairy products as well as their flavor, texture,
and other qualities.

On account of the demand for print butter, the manufacturers and
dealers in dairy supplies have designed a number of machines and
appliances for economically molding the butter into print forms.
These machines vary somewhat in their construction and manipula-
tion, but they all make the 1-pound print of about the same dimen-
sions — 2^ by 2| by 4-J- inches. In some printers a carved board is
placed on one side of the mold into which the butter is pressed and
this makes an impression in each print of some design or letter which
has been selected as a brand or trade-mark by the manufacturer. So
much attention has been given to the subject of butter printing that
the details are now satisfactorily worked out.

The favorable reputation which print butter has attained suggested
the possibility of applying the idea to the manufacture of cheese.

11

Why can not cheese, as well as butter, be molded into 1-pound prints?
After studying this question for two years, it is possible to say that
this new form of cheese can be made, and that it is received with
much favor by the consumer. The first print cheese was made at the
Wisconsin Dairy School during the winter of 1898-99. Since that
time some of the details have been changed, but the general plan of
the operation is the same as originally carried out. In so far as the
cheese is concerned, no deviation has been made from the usual proc-
ess of making cheddar cheese, except a modification in the pressing
and the " follower " used in the press.

The following is the method adopted at the University of Wisconsin :
The Cheddar cheese curd is placed in a mold or hoop of rectangular
shape, the bottom or ' ' follower " of which is a carved board. This
board makes the impression of the raised letters U W (University of

Pig. 3.— Print cheese made at University of Wisconsin.

Wisconsin) and the grooves which mark the cheese into prints, as
shown in the illustration. Each section on which U W is stamped
represents one-half pound, two sections making 1 pound. This
1-pound print of cheese is about the size of a 1-pound print of butter.
Its length and width are determined by the carving of the board,
which may be made of any size or design to suit a particular trade •
the thickness of the block is, of course, regulated by the amount of
curd put into the mold each time. The cheeses shown in the illustra-
tion weigh between 15 and 16 pounds each and will cut into fifteen
1-pound prints. Each block of fifteen prints is 11-J- by 13£ by 2|
inches, each print being 2^ by 2\ by 4£ inches in size.

This cheese was pressed in an upright press, the carved board being
placed at the bottom of the rectangular mold and the bandage cloth cut
to cover the carved board, sides, and bottom of the cheese. The ends

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of the bandage cloth come together on the smooth side of the cheese,
and the cloth is cut so as to make smooth, neat corners.

Metal hoops, similar to the Cheddar-cheese hoops, with fasteners,
etc. , can doubtless be made for this kind of cheese so that they may
be used in horizontal gang presses and a number of cheeses put to
press at the same time. By carving both sides of the board it can be
used for molding two cheeses when the board is placed in the press
between them.

There is no difficulty in curing these cheeses in the same way as
Cheddar cheese is cured. The bottom and sides should be greased
and the cheese turned occasionally, although it should not rest on
the carved surface for a very long time. By exercising a little care
in handling during the curing process, the cheese can be kept clean
and attractive in appearance, and, if well made from good milk, will
develop an acceptable flavor that, together with the trade-mark
branded into each pound, will be helpful in protecting the reputation
of the maker. Print cheese has been cured in a regular Cheddar-
cheese curing room at a temperature of 50° to 00° F., and a relative
humidity of 60° to 80°. It is very likely that print cheese may be
satisfactorily cured in cold storage, and that the cheese so cured will
possess a minimum of rind, with an excellent flavor and texture.

This idea has not been patented. The cheese made at the dairy
school has been inspected by many visitors, including manufacturers
and dealers, who have expressed themselves very favorably concern-
ing the possibilities of the manufacture of print cheese. (From a pub-
lication of the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station, by Prof.
E. H. Farrington, of the Dairy School, University of Wisconsin,

POT CHEESE.

A toothsome and nutritious article of food is made from sour skimmed
milk or buttermilk by allowing the casein to coagulate by the action
of acid already naturally formed, and then expelling the water by the
aid of heat. A considerable number of products, locally distinct
and different in the degree of dryness of the curd, are made in this
way. The general process of manufacture is to take sour buttermilk,
or skimmed milk which has coagulated, heat it gently from 85° to
125° F. , according to circumstances, and drain off the whey through
a cloth strainer. Then reduce the texture of the resulting curd by
kneading with the hands or a pestle ; salt is added, and the product
is improved by the addition of a small quantity of cream or butter.
Some persons consider it an improvement to season by the use of one
of the more common spices, as nutmeg, caraway, etc. It is largely
made only for domestic consumption, but in most cities and villages,
especially during the summer months, there is a considerable demand
for fresh cheese of this sort, and its manufacture is often a source of
revenue to factories suitably located. It is usually sold and eaten in

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a fresh state, but it may be subjected to certain curing processes,
which quite materially change its character and which vary widely in
different localities. This simple kind of cheese is also called Dutch
cheese, cottage cheese, and schmierkase. (Adapted from "Milk and
its products," by Prof. H. H. Wing.)

neufchAtel cheese.

The fresh morning's milk, while still at a temperature of about 90°
P., is set in a stoue jar holding 40 pounds or less, and enough rennet is
added to coagulate it in about twenty-four hours. It should stand in
a room of about 60° F. , and a reliable rennet extract should be used.
The jar may be covered with a woolen blanket or the like to keep the
temperature uniform. When coagulated the whole mass is poured
into a piece of cheese cloth, which is either placed in a basket or hung
up on four supports fixed for that purpose. It is then left twelve
hours to drain. Then the cloth is gathered together around the curd
and placed in a square wooden box with perforated bottom and sides,
and a pressboard put on with weights; a few stones will answer or a
small lever press may be used, such as described on page 7. The
curd is pressed for twelve hours and then kneaded by hand on dry
cloth into a uniform stiff paste. It requires experience to get exactly
the right consistency. If it is too moist, new dry cloths are placed
under it, and it is worked until dry enough. But if too dry, it is a
sign that either too much rennet has been used or the curd has been
pressed too much. In this last case some new curd is added and
carefully mixed with the other. When of the right consistency it is
put into small molds. Little tin cylinders are usual, of 2£ inches
diameter and 3 inches high. Any little tin can may be used by unsol-
dering the top and bottom. After smoothing both ends the cylindri-
cal-shaped cheese is pushed out and salted by strewing on both ends
and lightly rolling between the hands covered with salt.

The little cheeses are then placed on any kind of a draining board
and left for twenty-four hours. If made in any quantity a drying
room should be prepared with lath shelves, on which smooth, dry
straw is placed, and the cheeses laid upon the straw without touching
each other. They are turned often enough to prevent loss of shape
or sticking to the straw. Many people prefer this cheese while
quite fresh, and it may be used at any time after being dried for a
day. But if more age and maturity are preferred, more time and
attention are required, with special conditions.

Left upon the straw, white mold may be expected to appear after five
or six days. Leave this undisturbed and in ten or fifteen days more
the mold becomes blue and the cheeses are then said to have their
" first skin." They should then be taken to a cool and rather moist
cellar with similar shelves, placed on end on the straw, and turned
every three or four days. After three or four weeks in this place, red

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spots begin to appear, and the cheese, being then from six weeks to
two months old, is considered to be at its best. It takes (5 pounds of
milk for 1 pound of cheese.

It is difficult to make cheese of this general class uniform, unless
special rooms are provided, but for domestic use this abbreviated
description may be followed with an expectation of reasonably satis-
factory results. The principles are correctly stated, and the experi-
ence necessary to success need not be expensive, as a gallon of milk
is enough to use at one time in early trials.

Instead of straw, wooden mats or "splashers" maybe used on
which to dry the cheese.

This cheese is the kind commonly sold in this country wrapped in
tinfoil. Some of that in the market is very poor, being made from
skim milk, and is in reality nothing but cottage cheese, although sold
under this French name.

ENGLISH CREAM CHEESE.

Very thick cream is poured carefully into a linen bag and this hung
up, with a basin underneath to catch the whey, in a cool room or cel-
lar. The air in the room must be pure, as the cream easily absorbs
odors. When the whey is partly drained off the bag is twisted tight
and bound so as to dry the curd more; then, after twenty-four to
forty-eight hours, according to temperature and the consistency of
the cream, the "cheese " is ready to eat, and may be molded as desired.
This is hardly cheese, as no rennet is used; perhaps it. should be called
a "sour cream curd."

FRENCH CREAM CHEESE.

Enough rennet is added to the morning's milk, set in a jar at a tem-
perature of 70° F., to coagulate in two or three hours, and then left for
twenty or twenty-four hours. Instead of any special mold, a common
hair sieve may be used. After pouring out the whey gathered on top
of the curd, cut the latter into slices with a skimmer and lay it in the
sieve to drain. When well drained, add cream in quantities to suit,
but not more than that from a quantity of milk equal to that first
coagulated. Mix the curd and cream by mashing with a wooden pes-
tle, like a potato masher, until a uniform paste is obtained. This is
then placed in wicker molds or baskets lined with muslin. In France
heart-shaped molds are made for the purpose. The cheese is used
when freshly made. If it is to be kept several days an ice-box will
be necessary.

DOUBLE CREAM CHEESE.

This is the most popular cream cheese in Paris and it is said that
about 40,000 are consumed daily in that city. It is also called Swiss
cream cheese. According to Pourian, it is made as follows :

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Ten pounds of cream and 64 pounds of new milk are mixed care-
fully and brought to a temperature of 55° to 57° F. Enough diluted
rennet extract is added to make it coagulate in twenty to twenty-four
hours. The curd is cut into flat pieces with a skimmer and laid on a
linen cloth, which is folded over it so as to form a sort of press bag.
These bags or packages are laid in a perforated box with boards
between them, and when the first flow of whey stops the top board is
loaded with a weight of some kind. This pressing takes sixteen to
eighteen hours, as a rule ; it should continue until whey ceases to
escape.

The curd is then spread on a large table and worked and kneaded
by hand, while adding enough cream to give it a uniform smooth con-
sistency; after this it is left on the table some hours to become firmer.

The molding may be done by taking in the right hand enough curd
to make a cheese, placing it on a piece of paper, and rolling it into
a small cylinder. This can not be recommended for commercial
purposes. If many of the little cheeses are to be made, a suitable
molding apparatus should be provided, which may be constructed
substantially as follows : A form, or mold, is made by taking an open
tin box or pan of a depth corresponding to the length of the cheeses
to be made, the bottom of the pan or box having a convenient number
of circular openings into which tin cylinders of the desired dimensions
have been soldered. To form the cheeses this mold is placed bottom
uppermost on a sheet of perforated tinned steel somewhat larger than
the mold and supported by short feet, so that it may stand on a table.
By the aid of a wooden piston each cylinder may be lined with a roll
of paper. The curd is then dumped on top of the mold, pressed into
the cylinders, and struck off smoothly with a piece of board. The
whole "form" is then lifted carefully, leaving the cheeses in their
paper wrappings on the perforated tin plate. They are then ready to
be packed for the market.

This cheese, as analyzed by Pourian, has 55 per cent water, 30 per
cent fat, and 15 per cent casein, etc. One dozen weigh about 2
pounds.

(These descriptions of Neufchatel and Cream cheese are taken from
J. H. Monrad's book entitled the A B C of Cheese Making.)

NOTES FOR HOME CHEESE MAKING.

Utensils. — A good vat — one that can be kept clean and sweet and
large enough to hold whatever milk is to be used at one time. A
press ; for the product of from five to eight cows, a simple lever with
weights. Accompanying the press must be hoops; a good size is 10
inches in diameter and 8 inches deep, made of heavy tin, edges strong
and no top or bottom. A drainer or vessel with perforated bottom,
in which the curd is drained; a large basket will do, lined with
strainer cloth. A dozen cloths a yard square. A thermometer. A

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curd knife or knives. These come in pairs, one to out horizontally and
one vertically; but a long, slim knife will do, or a strong piece of gal-
vanized wire netting, as explained on page 8, or even a strong strip
of tin. A suitable room for curing, with a few smooth, wide shelves
on which to cure the cheese.

Rennet. — Use about one tablespoonf ul of rennet extract for 3 gallons
of milk. If the curd is over one-half hour in coming, increase the
quantity of rennet; if less, decrease it. Rennet tablets may be used.
(See p. 6.)

Preparation of the Curd. — Warm the milk to 85° F., add the rennet
and mix thoroughly, then cover and let stand at this temperature for
about one-half hour, or until the curd will break, leaving the whey
clear. Then cut each way, leaving it in columns about 1 inch square.
Now let it stand until the whey rises an inch on top of the curd, then
warm the whole gradually, taking two or three hours to reach 98° F.,
lifting and stirring and breaking it gently with the hand all the time
until the pieces are about the size of grains of corn. Be very careful
not to crush the curd, as that will cause the cream or fat to escape
with the whey. Then let stand at this temperature, stirring it occa-
sionally to keep from packing, until the curd is so firm that when
squeezed gently in the hand and the hand opened, it will separate into
particles again. The whey should have a slightly acid taste. Then
dip the curd into a basket lined with cloth, to cool and drain.

Salt. — Salt the curd after it is drained, using 4 ounces of salt to 10
pounds of curd, mixed in carefully but thoroughly; or salt by brine
bath or rubbing, after pressing, as described on page 7.

Pressure. — The pressure must be gentle at first or the milk fat will
run out, thus leaving a poor cheese. Increase the pressure gradually,
and in a few hours take the cheese out, turn it, rearrange the bandage,
and press as before.

Curing. — This is a very important part of cheese making. The room
for curing (and it may be in a basement or cellar if the conditions are
right) should be, first of all, capable of being kept at an even and
medium temperature. From 50° to 00° F. is now regarded as the best
for domestic purposes, although the time in curing may be somewhat
lengthened thereby. The cooler the room, the slower the curing. If
the room at any time gets much warmer than G5°, even for a short
period, the cheese is likely to be permanently injured. The room
should be fairly dry, but not too dry, and, while being well ventilated,
should be free from currents of air. If too dry or subjected to dry
currents, the cheese will lose weight and be apt to crack. Great care
must be taken to keep out all flies. The bandage should be greased
and rubbed and the cheese turned over on tins shelf every day or two
for a month; later this need be done only once or twice a week. If
the cheese should crack, paste strips of cheesecloth or stout paper
over the openings.

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